Pain Ordinaire Careme

Hi again everyone!

I'd like to share with you a "go-to" bread of mine that I think you'll enjoy.

This recipe comes from one of my favorite bread books called "The complete book of breads" (nice name, right?!) by Bernard Clayton.  This was my first real baking book and it taught me quite a bit about the process, and there are some breads in the book that I make on a regular occasion because they're good, sometimes easy, and always tasty.

This one is a particularly simple loaf that yields great results.  It comes from a 225 year old french recipe and the loaf comes out smelling like a baguette.  If you cook it in a cloche or other steamy environment, you'll get that baguette crust too!

The interesting part about this recipe is that you first make a paste with the flour and water before fully adding all the flour.  From there you finish the kneading, bulk, and final rises before baking.

You can find more details on the blog post about this french bread but here is the gist:

Ingredients

• 500 G King Arthur All Purpose Flour
• 300 Ml Water Warm
• 2 tsp Salt
• 1 pack Yeast

Mixing and Kneading

 

• Add half of the flour, all of the water, and all of the yeast in to the mixer bowl and mix with the flat beater for 10 minutes
• Switch to the dough hook
• Incorporate the rest of the flour and all of the salt in to the mixture and knead for 10 minutes
• The dough should be soft, smooth, and clean the sides of the bowl.

Bulk Fermentation

 

• Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 2 hours. It will more than double during this time.

Shaping and Final Proof

• On a very lightly floured surface, turn the dough and shape to your desired loaf.
• Place the shaped dough in to a proofing basket and cover with plastic

 

Baking

• Preheat the oven to 425˚F with the bread cloche
• Remove the bread from the proofing basket and place it on a sheet of parchment paper
• Score the bread with a lame or sharp knife to avoid "blowouts"
• Load the bread in to the cloche and bake for 15 minutes with the lid
• Remove the lid and finish baking for another 15 minutes or until the crust is nicely browned
• Remove from the oven and let it cool before enjoying, about 10 minutes

If you get a chance to make this bread, let me know what you think!  I'd love your feedback!

Nick from makebread.net